News Page

Smith: "I felt like a kid at Christmas."

10/21/2005
Mark Palmer, Staff Writer
mark@revwrestling.com

Once the mats were put away at the 2005 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary, only one wrestler from the U.S. brought home gold. This U.S. freestyle competitor had never won a World championship, an NCAA title, or a state high school crown.
That said, Iris Smith has accomplished much in her mat career, including winning titles at the 2000-02 and 2005 U.S. Nationals, as well as the Pan American Games in 2000 and 2001. Now Smith has added the 2005 World Championship -- and its gold medal -- to her list of list of honors.

A Day to Remember in September

Iris Smith defeated five-time World champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan, 3-1, 1-1 and 1-0, to win the 2005 World title at 72 kg (photo by Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling).

Friday, September 30 was an incredible day for Iris Smith. On her way to the gold medal in the 72kg/158.5 lb women's freestyle competition, Smith had to wrestle four opponents -- all in one day.

"All through the tournament, I was incredibly focused," said Smith in an interview for this profile. "I felt like I was in the zone from the moment I weighed in. I kept my concentration, and wrestled one match at a time. I felt comfortable and confident."

Throughout the day, Iris Smith kept her eyes on the prize. In her first bout, Smith stopped Stanka Zlateva of Bulgaria, 3-1, 1-0 … followed by a shut out of Angnieska Wieczczek of Poland, 2-0, 6-0 to win the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Smith defeated Anita Schaetzle of Germany, 3-1, 2-0.

The Finals Outcome

Those three bouts were the prelude to the finals, where Smith faced off against five-time World champion Kyoko Hamaguchi of Japan. In only her second appearance in a World championship, Smith upset the veteran 3-1, 1-1 and 1-0 to win the 2005 World title in Budapest. And it all played out in an exciting finals bout that could have been straight out of a Hollywood movie.

Smith opened up the best-of-three-periods title match in spectacular fashion, scoring a three-point takedown to take the first period. The next period ended in a 1-1 tie, but Hamaguchi won it because she scored the last point. In the first fifty seconds of the third and deciding period, Smith scored a takedown at the edge of the mat which had to be reviewed by the officials while the wrestlers, coaches and audience waited in nervous anticipation. The point stood, and Smith held Hamaguchi scoreless the rest of the period to claim victory -- and the gold.

Basking In a Golden Glow

In a published interview conducted immediately after winning the championship, Smith said, "I wrestled (Hamaguchi) at the World Cup five months ago. She beat me. But I felt I could beat her. I decided to do my own thing. (U.S. Army coach) Shon Lewis helped me out to get prepared. My strategy was to keep moving. (National women's coach) Terry Steiner had everything ready, and he told me what to do. It worked."

Smith was one of four U.S. women to medal in the tournament, helping the team to place third in the standings at the Worlds. "I think my gold was important to the team," Smith said in a post-match interview. "I wanted to hear the national anthem and see my flag raised. I love my country. It motivated me. I wanted to get my country another gold medal."

Reflecting on the gold-medal match two weeks after bringing home the World championship, Smith noted, "In the finals, I was so focused, I didn't even realize I had wrestled three periods. In fact, I wasn't completely sure I had won until I looked over at Terry Steiner and Shon Lewis."

"I felt like a kid at Christmas," said Smith. "This has been a lifelong dream of mine, a dream that I've had since I first started wrestling."

Georgia: The First Step on the Road to Gold

Born twenty-six years ago in Albany, Georgia – located in the southeastern part of the state -- Smith came to wrestling a bit later than most world champions. She first took up the sport at Darsey Private High School where she also played basketball and served as student council president, according to her USA Wrestling biography.

"I went to my brother Kenderson's wrestling matches to support him, to cheer him on," said Smith. "His coach, Anthony White, tried to talk me into going out for the team. Then my mom started working on me, too. So I decided to check it out."

Smith got a rather rude introduction to the sport. "On the second day of practice, I broke my ankle! I spent the whole summer in a cast."

But that injury didn't stop Smith from returning to the mats. She wrestled as a middleweight on the boys' varsity team, where she was immediately accepted by her teammates. "It helped that coach White had recruited me, and that my older brother was on the team."

When asked if she encountered much resistance to wrestling boys in high school from those outside the team, Smith replied, "I really didn't hear too much in the way of negative comments. I did get some folks saying things like ‘ladies don't wrestle.'"

"As I started to win, I got a bit more flack," according to Smith. "A couple times I heard from parents whose sons lost to me. But that was pretty much the extent of it."

Go West, Young Wrestler!

Immediately after high school, Smith stayed in Georgia for a while, continuing her wrestling training. Then she headed west to the Olympic Training Center (OTC) in Colorado Springs … even though they didn't have a specific program for women at the time.

"The OTC is the perfect place for me," said Smith. "It has tremendous facilities, you get expert coaching, and experienced workout partners. And the scenery! I have an incredible view of the mountains from my house. I love the outdoors, so Colorado is great for me. I can go hiking in the mountains whenever I want."

Smith singled out her coaches for special praise: "I could not have won the Worlds without them. Shon Lewis, with his background as a Greco-Roman wrestler, is a great motivator. And Terry Steiner is the technician, helping me improve my technique. Their unique skills, personalities and backgrounds compliment each other, and make a great coaching team for me."

She's In the Army Now

In her third year at the Olympic Training Center, Smith joined the U.S. Army, where she is a sergeant. She is based at Fort Carson, Colorado, only a few miles from the OTC and her house.

"I'm part of their World Class Athlete Program," said Smith. "I am a soldier, trained as a transportation specialist, but my mission is to represent the Army as a wrestler in international competition." Smith points out that a number of U.S. wrestlers are part of this program, including Dremiel Byers, Keith Sieracki, Oscar Wood, and Tina George.

Building a Ladder…

With her gold medal, Iris Smith joins a very exclusive club: only three other U.S. women -- Tricia Saunders, Kristie Marano, and Sandra Bacher -- have ever won a World wrestling championship.

"As a young woman, I always looked up to Tricia Saunders as my inspiration," said Smith. "She paved the way for women like me to go out for the sport and work hard to be successful at it."

Smith likens her wrestling career to building a ladder over the ten years of international freestyle competition. "Winning the U.S. Nationals is one step in building a ladder to the Worlds, which then serves as a ladder towards the 2008 Olympics," said Smith. "Of course, the ladder includes many elements beyond competing, including working out, staying in shape, and having the right people around me."

As for the top rung of the ladder?

"After I reach my other goals, I might consider a career in coaching," said Smith. "It would be a great way to give back to the sport that has given so much to me."

-------------------------------------------------

Competition drives women weightlifters

By Oscar A. Hernandez 10-21-05
Special to The Advertiser

Jill Remiticado and Shannon Abac have different goals, but the same passion in a sport that has traditionally been a male stronghold.

The two women train in weightlifting, a sport that is growing in popularity among females and catching on in Hawai'i.

"I don't think of (weightlifting) as being a 'male-dominated' sport," said Remiticado, 24. "I've experienced nothing but support from the weightlifting community."

Remiticado, of 'Aiea, has been lifting since 2003.

"I wrestled in high school (Iolani) and college (Pacific University in Oregon)," she said. "After graduating from college, I was looking for reasons to maintain a fitness lifestyle. Weightlifting appealed to me because I already had a foundation of strength from wrestling."

Remiticado would like to see how far she can go in the sport.

"The Olympics crossed my mind, but only time will tell after testing myself at the national level," she said.

Abac, 21, a fine arts student at the University of Hawai'i, said she doesn't aspire to reach the levels that Remiticado does, though she does want to push her boundaries.

"Because this sport is an entirely new activity in my life, I'd like to see how good I can get," said Abac, who has been lifting for just a few months.

"I like the danger of lifting a heavy weight above my head," said Abac, originally from Maui. "If you mess up any part of your technique, it could end in serious injury, but when you succeed, it's such a rush."

Both women are coached by Mel Miyamoto, 63, who used to be the strength coach for the Hawai'i Pacific University basketball team.

Miyamoto said he took USA Weightlifting coaching courses, and got tips from Hawai'i's Tommy Kono, who won Olympic gold in 1952 and 1956, and silver in 1960.

In 1998, Miyamoto began coaching women and now tutors six females.

Miyamoto said that women make better weightlifters because they tend to be more flexible than men. Also, because many do not have a weightlifting background, they enter the sport without "techniques that must be unlearned."

At 5 feet 1 and 120 pounds, Remiticado is not an imposing figure.

"Compared to bodybuilding, it doesn't add bulk, which I think appeals more to women," she said. "At times you wouldn't be able to tell if a woman is a weightlifter. Olympic weightlifting doesn't change the feminine appearance, like bodybuilding would."

For Remiticado, weightlifting has its benefits beyond testing one's strength.

"If anything, it provides awareness of balance and kinesthetic intelligence," said Remiticado, a construction engineer for Hawaiian Dredging Construction. "It strengthens the legs, the back and upper body."

In June of this year, Remiticado made her mark at the Hawai'i State Games, setting a state record by lifting 75 kilograms (165 pounds) in the clean and jerk; and lifting 50 kilograms (110 pounds) in the snatch for a total of 132.5 kilograms (291.5 pounds). Remiticado competed in the 58-kilogram (127-pound) weight class.

At the Team Hawai'i Developmental Meet on Sept. 10 at the Nu'uanu YMCA, Remiticado won her division. She hoisted a combined weight of 130 kilograms (55 in the snatch and 75 in the clean and jerk), or 286 pounds.

Abac also put up impressive totals at the same meet.

In the 75-kilogram weight class, Abac cleared 47.5 kilograms (104 pounds) in the snatch, and 55 kilograms (121 pounds) in the clean and jerk, for a combined total of 102.5 kilograms, or 225 pounds.

"It was a lot of fun," Abac said. "I felt my adrenaline pumping during the competition, especially because I've never competed in any type of sport in the past. I was nervous at first, but then I got into the groove of the competition and had a great time."

Because weightlifting is an anaerobic sport, Abac and Remiticado supplement their training with cardio-based exercise.

Abac rounds out her training by running on a treadmill and playing tennis, as well as doing plyometric exercises, which involve repeated jumping.

Remiticado does her cardio work by running on a treadmill, as well as doing 20 minutes of 100-meter sprints.

Remiticado offers this advice for aspiring female lifters.

"You must be a risk-taker in order to succeed as a woman weightlifter," she said. "One must be willing to persevere and endure the lifting techniques in order to hoist a particular weight amount and eventually succeed. (Don't) be so hard on yourself when you can't lift a particular weight. Keep trying."

-------------------------------------------

City's best wrestlers to be honored

John Erfort 10/20/05
El Paso Times

The city of El Paso has a long and storied tradition of wrestling success at the high school level.

And it is that history that will be celebrated when more than 100 of the city's greatest wrestlers are honored as being a part of the city's Dream Team of High School Wrestling.

The members of that dream team of wrestling will be honored Nov. 6 at a banquet at the El Paso Convention and Performing Arts Center.

The event is sponsored by the El Paso Parks and Recreation Department, which also has put on similar events for girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls swimming and softball.

The first such event, the girls basketball dream team banquet, was held in 1996. Parks and recreation department special promotions and public relations coordinator Wayne Thornton said plans are in the works for boys basketball and baseball dream teams as well.

Former Eastwood wrestler Tressa Yocum, a two-time state champion for the Troopers, is one of more than 100 who will be honored on the El Paso Dream Team of High School Wrestling. Make plans What: Banquet for the El Paso Dream Team of High School Wrestling. Who: More than 100 wrestlers will be honored, along with coaches, officials and those influential in the sport's growth in El Paso. When: Sunday, Nov. 6. Where: El Paso Civic Center. Cost: Tickets are $25 each and are available at the Lincoln Tower, 4001 Durazno. Information: 533-3311.

"I thought it would be a natural to do this for wrestling because it's such a tradition-rich sport in this city," Thornton said.

Thornton began by finding a point man for the event, and he turned to former Eastwood coach Ben Avalos after he heard about Avalos organizing a reunion for one of his teams.

Avalos, a 1975 graduate of Irvin High School and a 1981 graduate of UTEP, won a state championship as a student-athlete and as a coach.

Avalos' Eastwood teams won six district championships and one state title (1985).

And it's his love of the sport that made him jump at the opportunity to help make the wrestling dream team a reality.

"I've been involved in wrestling for a long, long time," he said. "It's always been something that's close to me. I just know how much hard work goes into wrestling."

Selections were made based on wrestlers who won state titles or were all-city two years in a row in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Finally, there was a category for those who didn't fit the first two criteria, but did something outstanding like winning an NCAA championship.

In addition, the banquet will honor the first four coaches in El Paso wrestling history -- Doug Handley (Burges), Manny Pacillas (Jefferson), Cecil Maxwell (Bowie) and Ted Kepple (Irvin) -- and former El Paso ISD assistant athletic director Al Messer.

Finally, longtime coaches, officials and others who were integral to the sport's growth and success in the city will also be honored.

----------------------------------------

Wrestlers hit the mat

By Melissa Burnsed

Wildcats Coach Joe VanVactor is eager to get the new wrestling season started and will open fall practice Monday, October 24 at 6pm in the BCHS gym. A mandatory parents and team member meeting will be held before practice gets underway. In addition the Badcats Wrestling Club will have their organizational meeting at the same time, where lower age athletes can register to participate in the popular program.

Assisting with the team this year will Air Force ROTC instructor Sgt. Roth. He brings extensive experience to the team, having wrestled in high school, college and in the armed forces leagues.

Coach "V" is expecting a large turnout after hearing from lots of interested students. This year the team will be co-ed with 6 to 8 female wrestlers coming out for the team. They will get to compete in several female only competitions and those who stick it out all season will advance to the new state tourney, scheduled to be held in January.

------------------------------------------

Today's Action Picture - Joey Miller and Camie Yeik

Photo by Wyatt Schultz 10/23/05

National Wrestling Action Photo Contest

102 pounds Women's Junior National Freestyle Championship Finals - Joey Miller (OK) decisioned Camie Keik (WA), 9-7.

--------------------------------------------------------

2005 Sunkist International - Womens Freestyle Photos- tech-fall.com